Think Railways

Private rail operator Leo Express posted a  CZK 63.6 million (EUR 2.2 million) consolidated loss in the first half of this year compared with a  CZK 86.6 million (EUR 3.12 million) loss a year earlier, the company has said in an interim first-half report obtained by the Czech News Agency.

Leo Express's operation is profitable only on a route to Staré Město near Uherské Hradiště, south Moravia, which the company has recently introduced.

Leo Express' sales increased to CZK 88.7 million in the first half of this year from CZK 86.8 million in the first half of 2013. The company's operating profit was CZK 4.4 million in the first half of 2014.

Passenger numbers grew in the first half, mostly at the end of the period.

"First-half revenues continue to reflect a low level of prices on Leo Express's first Prague–Ostrava route, which was established on the market by the dominant player, company České dráhy [Czech Railways], in previous years," Leo Express said.

Leoš Novotný, Leo Express's CEO and principal shareholder, told today's issue of daily Mladá fronta Dnes the profit was achieved thanks to a postponement of installments by company Credit Suisse.

http://www.praguepost.com/